Double Trouble

Before the Olsen twins, before Tia and Tamera, and waaaay before Zack and Cody, our televisions were graced with what remains one of the more memorable sets of twins (and certainly the best from our favorite decade).

Liz and Jean Sagal burst on the scene in the early 80s as the Doublemint Twins, and then in April 1984 they got their own show… and oh, how we loved it.

Double Trouble was fresh, hip, and, yes, more than a little silly. And even though it was painfully short-lived (only 23 measly episodes), true 80s fans will always remember it fondly.

The first season found livewire Kate (Jean) and prim and proper Allison (Liz) as 16-year-old twins living in Des Moines (yes, Iowa) with their widowed father, who ran a dance studio. It gave the twinkies plenty of opportunity to show off their real-life dance skills, and it gave their characters plenty of time to get into hijinks (oh, that crazy Kate… always pretending to be Allison).

It wasn’t until the second season, though, that the show finally hit its stride, as the girls moved into their nutty Aunt Margo’s house in New York City (Kate wanted to be an actress, Allison took fashion classes). The small-town vibe was gone, and the loony-tune comedy was in full effect. Sure, Kate’s buddies Charles and Billy (Jonathan Schmock and Jim Vallely) were loopy, but even they couldn’t hold a candle to Allison’s friend Aileen Anne-Marie Johnson), who was always offering up non-sensical words of wisdom from her momma in Jamaica.

Throw in the beyond-deadpan Michael D. Roberts as Allison’s teacher Mr. Arrechia, and we’re still at a loss as to why Double Trouble didn’t make it to a third season. Seriously, it’s main timeslot competition was T.J. Hooker and then Dynasty. What gives?

The girls were cute (love those bangs!), the comedy was spot-on (at least for the 80s), and the supporting cast was stellar (Schmock and Vallely have since gone on to have quite the career)… Put it all together, and we think it’s obvious why…